Sony CEO Kaz Hirai: Still More Work Needed in U.S. on Phone Business

While Sony has seen some success rebuilding its mobile phone business in other parts of the world, the U.S. remains a work in progress.

“We still have a lot of stuff to do here in the market,” Sony CEO Kaz Hirai said in a meeting with reporters following his onstage appearance at D11. “There is no question about it.”

The company plans to start selling its flagship Xperia Z phone through a U.S. carrier shortly; increased marketing efforts should help things, Hirai said.

In Japan, Hirai noted that the Xperia Z managed to be the top-selling phone for six weeks straight in a highly competitive, highly fickle market.

“It’s literally a feat,” he said.

Hirai said that while much of his first year has been spent stopping the bleeding in current categories of the electronics business, the company is also working to find ways to be a leader in new categories.

“I firmly believe the DNA is there to be back in that position,” Hirai said.

As for when higher-resolution 4K television will take off, Hirai said it is still a way off.

“It will take time, just like HD didn’t happen overnight,” he noted, saying it was the work of content producers, device makers and others. “That’s exactly what happened with color television.”

But not all of the industry’s efforts have flourished. He noted more work is also still needed with 3-D television, he said.

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